SECURITY CHALLENGES IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
EZEDIKE AMAKA EMMANUELLA 1204665
MA GLOBAL AFFAIRS AND DIPLOMACY
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AND DIPLOMACY
SUPERVISOR: DR JULIAN RICHARDS
SEPTEMBER 2013
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ABSTRACT Nigeria as a country gained her independence on October 1st 1960 and after a temporary civilian government and a long reign of military power, which experienced a series of coup d’état it was restored to a democratic federation in 1999. A country with a population of over 168 million and rich in both human and natural resources faces some concerns such as corruption and security challenges. These challenges are on the increase because of lack of solutions to the issues and as such posed several threats to its inhabitants as well as create economic implications. There are some contentions as to whether the current systems handling security issues are effective. This paper will provide an in-depth analysis at the level of insecurity in Nigeria using past and current events. It will also examine existing domestic and external policies channelled towards managing the security concerns. This dissertation addresses these questions: Firstly, what is the highest form of security concern in the country? Secondly, what role do the leaders play in ensuring security? Thirdly, what can be done to counter the security challenges? And lastly, what are the possible causes of insecurity in Nigeria? Following a careful review of existing literature, in spite of the growing security issues in Nigeria, there are limited academic works thus limiting in-depth insight into key areas of security concerns This dissertation uses a mixed method approach which combines the collective use of qualitative and quantitative data methodology. From these findings, the study identifies evidence linking different group causes of the security issues and also loophole in the available policies. Such awareness can help the Nigerian Government, NGOs, International Organisations and other interested bodies improve policies for security challenges especially in developing diverse nationals.
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Although, previous studies restrict findings to, identifying one cause of security challenges. This comprehensive study identifies both direct and indirect causes of the issues and as such allows for collective understanding. This bundling of the causes of security challenges in Nigeria will allow other researchers focus on providing possible solution to the issues. KEYWORDS: Terrorism, Militancy, Corruption, Lawlessness, Unemployment, Illiteracy, Structure, Politics, Crude Oil, Ethnicity and Religion.
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DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I understand the nature of plagiarism, and I am aware of the University of Buckingham’s policy on this. I hereby declare that this dissertation has been carried out by me, under the supervision of Dr Julian Richards, and has not been submitted to any other institution for assessment to obtain another qualification.
Signature.............................
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Date.............................
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DEDICATION I am dedicating this to the Almighty God, who has been my help in ages past.
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Table of Contents ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................ 2 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY .............................................................................................................. 4 DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................ 5 ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 9 LISTS OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. 10 LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................ 12 1.1
OTHER POPULAR REBELGROUPS ...................................................................................... 26 CORRUPTION......................................................................................................................... 27
2.6.1
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND NATIONAL SECURITY................................. 28
2.6.1.1
LINKAGE BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND NATIONAL SECURITY .......................................... 29
5.2 RECOMMENDATION ................................................................................................................... 55 5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES.............................................................................. 56 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................................................................................. 59 Part A................................................................................................................................................. 59 Part B................................................................................................................................................. 60 APPENDIX III: List of Security Threats by State ..................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX IV: World Bank Indicator Database (Nigeria)....................................................................... 63
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ABBREVIATIONS CCTV
Closed Circuit Television
DoS
US Department of State
DPT
Democratic Peace Theory
EFCC
Economic Financial Crime Commission
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GNI
Gross National Income
IED
Improvised Explosive Device
INYC
Itsekiri National Youth Council
IYC
Ijaw Youth Council
MEND
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
MI5
UK Security Service
NDCGs
Niger Delta Coastal Guerrillas
NDTC
Niger Delta Technical Committee
OPC
Oodua People’s Congress
OSAA
Office of the Special Adviser on Africa
OSIWA
The Open Society Initiative for West Africa
RDT
Relative Deprivation theory
TI
Transparency International
UK
United Kingdom
UN
United Nations
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
US
United States of America
WB
World Bank
WTC
World Trade Centre
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LISTS OF FIGURES Figure 1: NIGERIAN MAP OF THE THIRTY-SIX STATES AND GEO-POLITICAL ZONES ......................................... 13 Figure 2: PIPELINE VANDALISING IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION ..................................................................... 22 Figure 3: BOKO HARAM ATTACKS FROM 2003-2011 ...................................................................................... 25 Figure 4: DIVISION OF NIGERIA BASED ON REBEL GROUPS ............................................................................ 27 Figure 5: THREAT CHAIN ............................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 6: GALTUNG'S MODELS OF CONFLICT, VIOLENCE AND PEACE .............................................................. 31
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LIST OF TABLES Table 1: TRENDS AND NATURE OF ATTACKS BY MEND FROM 2006-2008 ...................................................... 23 TABLE 2: TABLE SHOWING PARTICIPANTS' THOUGHTS ON INSECURITY CHALLENGES AND THEIR SOLUTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 51 TABLE 3: TABLE SHOWING PARTICIPANTS' RATINGS ON INSECURITY CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA ..................... 52
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CHAPTER 1 1.1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter shall contain different ways in which security is defined in academic writings, and it will also, include enhancement in the academics of security as the world experience new levels of security bodies and security challenges. This provides a platform for the security challenges in Nigeria.
1.2
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Despite the increased usage of this concept, many bodies are still clueless as to what actually constitutes human security. The end of the World War II is seen by many as the beginning of global peace and stability. This period witness the arrival of the United Nations, an organised International body which marked the start of an enhanced form of global governance. However, a single generally accepted definition of Security has not been produced, and according to former United Nations’ Secretary General Kofi Annan, the new security threats broaden the meaning of the concept of security (Annan, 2001). This threat has also, to a large extent shaped policy response by the nature of war and conflict between nations. Security challenges are both an issue in developing as well as in developed countries. Several efforts are made to resolve security concerns globally. However, despite the increased struggle to solve security issues, a majority of the world’s population are still faced with preventable internal security challenges; this is mainly in Africa and the Middle East. For many countries, achieving development is not only dependent on economic ability, and asset management but also the state of security of affairs within and outside its horizon. It can be argued that the essence of maintaining peace and security is for the wellbeing of people in a society. According to the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) 2005 report, the cause of security issues in Africa lies in most of her countries’ weak state centric concept of security.
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Kim et al suggest that low levels of human development increases the risk of conflict outbreaks and recurrence; therefore this implies that to prevent conflict more projects are to be embarked on to promote human development and this will in turn reflect on the overall security of the country. The protection of lives especially at the grassroots’ level is crucial to the overall security of a nation. Nigeria has six geopolitical zones namely North-Central, North-Western, North-Eastern, South-Eastern, South-South and South-western. These zones make up the thirty-six states in the country, and each state further divides into local governments. Figure 1: NIGERIAN MAP OF THE THIRTY-SIX STATES AND GEO-POLITICAL ZONES
Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1364869 Unlike security challenges before the start of the 1999 democratic rule, Nigeria has had a rapid increase in cases of mass murder and kidnap over the last decade. This security issues have gained popularity in the international scene. For a better understanding of security issues in Nigeria, a range of literature works are reviewed in this paper one of which includes the diversifying attribute. 1204665
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The country is home of various ethnic groups, religions, cultures, histories and political views. From another perspective, according to Andrews, diversity is not a problem but rather a means exploited through political interest and other financial gains, he opines that with provision of appropriate policy framework and institution, which will replace the existing practice of identification based on the different diversifying groups to manage the distribution of resources. Some may argue that the security issues in Nigeria can be traced back to illiteracy, political interest and dysfunctional government. However, many will agree that this security issues is yet to be handled with a lasting solution. The security system in Nigeria faces the risk of mainly Terrorism, Militancy, Corruption, Lawlessness, Unemployment, Illiteracy, Unstructured systems, Politics, Natural Resources (especially Crude Oil), Ethnicity, Religion and, Cyber crime The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) recognises four main causes of crisis outbreak in Nigeria; the report blames this on growing economic issues, an increase in organised crime, unproductive government and policies that people have no confidence in, and lastly political differences and election mayhem (OSIWA, 2012). This report goes further, to state that without prompt interference from the international community, the already existing issues might develop into more worsening security problems not only to the country but also to other regions surrounding it.
1.3
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.3.1 THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The security system in Nigeria has of late gained increased attention in the international scene, and this is due to weakness in the security system and flaws in the policy formulation.
1.3.2 THE SUB-PROBLEMS •
The poor distribution of natural resources revenue;
•
The existence of rebel groups;
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•
The high level of corruption in public offices;
•
The absence of cultural diversity management programme
•
The absence of pre-conflict plans and;
•
There are a high percentage of unemployed youths.
1.4
THE HYPOTHESES
•
Nigeria is insecure
•
Cultural and religious diversity are used for political gains;
•
Corruption is dominant in the day to day activities in the country;
•
The security challenges limit the nation’s economic growth.
1.5
THE LIMITATIONS
•
This study does not concentrate on how the security system operates, rather concentrates on the flaws in the system;
•
The methodology review draws from less than 1% of the total population and this may not represent the view of the majority;
•
Although there are a lot of materials on Nigeria security, there are however limited scholarly writings on the topic and;
•
The study does not include environmental security such as natural disasters.
1.6
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Five main research questions were addressed in the dissertation, and they are: •
What are the security challenges in Nigeria?
•
What are the possible causes of security challenges in Nigeria?
•
What can be done to counter the security challenges in Nigeria?
•
What is the highest form of security concern in the country?
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•
What roles do leaders play in ensuring security?
DISSERTATION CONTENT Chapter one introduces the form in which the dissertation will take. It presents a brief study on the background of the study. The research problem is grouped into the main problem and six sub problems. This chapter further outlines the hypothesis of the study, the research limitations, research questions and a synopsis of each chapter’s organisation. Chapter two reviews existing literatures on the study of Nigeria’s security challenges, it discusses the genesis of the problem, it also identifies recent developments in the study, and furthermore, it discusses the flaws in the available policies and possible solutions. The chapter also makes clear the objectives, tactics, achievements and implications of the rebel groups’ activities. Lastly it gives a summary of the review. Chapter three reviews the research design, and the form in which the methodology will take. This was done by stating the approach, measurement, targeted participants, procedure, and data analysis. This chapter also identifies the research limitations and post-research ethics. Chapter four presents a step by step interpretation of the response gotten from the questionnaires and interviews conducted. This chapter presents the findings of the study using tables, and the results of the research are analysed. Chapter five merges the research problem, the literature review, the methodology and the findings. This is done, to systematically link the importance of each chapter to the development of the dissertation topic. Lastly the references used are listed, followed by the interview questions, questionnaires and further tables and maps.
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CHAPTER 2 2.1
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.2
INTRODUCTION
The existing literatures on security challenges in Nigeria mainly revolve around three central themes. They include the Militant activities in the Niger Delta region, controlled by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), The Boko Haram religious crisis, which is an Islamic Sect in the northern states and lastly political insurgencies arising from the different political parties and political views. Although security challenges faced by the country go beyond the above stated themes, these literatures are nevertheless relevant to the framework of this study. This literature review will also unfold various existing policies for managing the issues at hand and also touch on the current security situation in the country.
2.3
CRISIS TRANSITION
According to (Sola, 2007) security issues in Nigeria until recently were mainly interregional differences and were, therefore, easier to control. When conflict within regions arises the state government is supposed to intervene and put an end to the crisis, but when the state government is unable to curb the growing conflict, the federal government declares a state of emergency and deploys military personnel to the affected region(s) to restore peace and order to the state, this instrument is known as martial law. This means that, during this period civilian governments’ activities are placed on hold and replaced by military officials that then performs some or in some cases the entire role of the government of that region. In the past, there have been call for a state of emergency, first of which since the new democratic regime was declared by the then President of the country Olusegun Obasanjo, on the 18th of May 2004. This took place after mass religious killings in Plateau State. Also, joining the league of States in recent times under the Martial law practice contained in the 1204665
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1999 constitution section 305 due to the growing mass killings is Borno, Adamawa and Yobe state. Although regional crisis is a crucial issue in Nigeria, the 2010 October 1st Bombing near the Eagle square of the capital city Abuja, marked the first awareness to national security threat. This bombing was significant because it took place on a day the Country marks her independence, just a few minutes away from the celebration venue (Oluduro & Olubisi F., 2012)
2.4
CONTEMPORARY SECURITY CHALLENGES IN A DEMOCRATIC STATE
2.4.1 BACKGROUND In investigating the security issues in Nigeria, (Nwagboso, 2012) Adopts Immanuel Kant’s Democratic Peace Theory and the Relative Deprivation theory by an American Sociologist Robert K. Merton. He argues that security rests in the hands of government policies and thus those policies should be based on long term solutions, credibility, and should also be liberal in nature. (Eme & Anthony, 2011) Also uses this approach, they blame the cause of security challenges on inadequate policies and poor living condition. According to the DPT, democratic states are less likely to be involved in armed combat with other democratic States; this is because security issues between democratic States are dialogued over for solutions. He concludes by stating that most security issues associated with these countries are internal.
2.4.2 SECURITY MEASURES When it comes to security Nigeria is lagging behind, human security goes beyond military protection from external attack. According to the (UNDP, 1994) report, there are seven factors of security deemed as constituting the concept of human security. This includes food
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security, health security, political security, community security, personal security, economic security and environmental security. One cannot dispute that the above listed factors are real issues of concern in the country today as it lacks sufficient means to cater for people in the country. To tackle this matter, the OSIWA outlines four necessary steps: 1. For security to be maintained the Nigerian government should seek necessary assistance in reviewing the current security policies, to ensure continuous peace and stability, this means that, the country should take on long term policies designed to handle micro security and counter-terrorism, these policies should include the involvement of the different sectors with a sense of accountability in the security process. 2. As part of the cause of contemporary security issues revolves around religious activities, funding should be made available to independent bodies to intercede during religious unrest, and also create platforms to foster peaceful coexistence among the religious groups. 3. Also, vital to security of any country is transparency of the government in power; this is pertinent to the Nigerian government particularly in the management of the oil sector and distribution of wealth. 4. Lastly, the need to set up a functional Human Rights commission to handle cases of injustice and mistreatment (OSIWA, 2012). In the OSIWA briefing, the cause of security issues is due to the misplaced priorities and corruption practices of the serving government to include the legislative and judicial arms of government. The implication of this has resulted to: i.
Lack of confidence in the government by the people,
ii.
Cause of individuals and groups taking justice into their own hands,
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iii.
Poverty,
iv.
An Economic meltdown,
v.
Unemployment,
vi.
Lack of social and health amenities,
vii.
Violence and other acts of terrorism,
viii.
Increase in crime rate.
The report proposes that, for change to occur, non-governmental bodies should be able to come-up with, implementable processes to control government excesses and the abuse of power. Also, it calls the attention of the international community, to provide essential training and expert advice to manage these challenges (OSIWA, 2012).
2.5
TERRORISM AND ITS IMPLICATION
2.5.1 TERRORISM: A SECURITY CHALLENGE OF THE 21ST CENTURY The 9/11 attack on the US World Trade Centre created a new awareness on the reality of terrorism. This new terrorism changes the meaning of security in the twenty first century. However, some still respond to the activities of the Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups as an act of freedom fighting; this school of thought makes the theory of terrorism difficult to define (J. Richards)1. Literatures such as (Horgan, 2003), (Horgan, 2008), (Reich, 1998) argues causes of terrorism using several psychological approaches, as opposed to the political reason for terrorist attacks defined in a number of literatures. Terrorism as described by the UK Security Service is “The use or threat of action designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public, or a section of the public; made for the purposes of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause” (MI5- The Security Service, 2013).
1
Notes from ‘Security Challenges and other Global issues’ on Terrorism lecture: week 6. Dr Julian Richards. School of humanities, University of Buckingham
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Neumann and smith also defined terrorism based on the form of attacked associated with terrorist bombings, they defined terrorism as a “deliberate creation of a sense of fear, usually by the use or threat of use of symbolic acts of physical violence, to influence the political behaviour of a given target group” (Neumann & Michael, 2007). This study although not directly related to the paper is in line with understanding new terrorism. The Al Qaeda terrorist group is at the forefront of global terrorist threats, this is a notorious Islamic sect known for symbolic bombings around the world. The Al Qaeda is just one of the listed terrorist groups around the world. According to the U.S Department of State, Bureau of Counterterrorism 2012 findings, there are fifty one terrorist groups gathered from October1997- March 2013 listing (U.S Dept of State)2. It appears that a defining feature of a lot of these groups is that many of these groups are religion orientated but are, however, enthusiastic mostly about different things, and also structured in different modes of implementation. Nevertheless, a lot of these groups are interlinked with one another. The Boko Haram group in Nigeria is sometimes referred to as a subgroup of the Al Qaeda.
2.5.2 THE CASE OF TERRORISM IN NIGERIA 2.5.2.1
NIGER DELTA CRISIS: MENDING THE DELTA IN A TORN NATION
Before the popularity of Boko Haram, there were the Niger Delta Militant groups. These groups are located in the South- South area also known as the Middle belt oil rich region of the country. By far, because of Nigeria’s sole dependence on crude oil revenue, the biggest development threat to the country’s economy is the Niger Delta militant crisis (Sola Tayo, 2007).
2
U.S Department of state ‘Foreign Terrorist Organisations’. Bureau of Counterterrorism. September 28, 2012. http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm
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Figure 2: PIPELINE VANDALISING IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION
Source: Sahara reporters, New York Sebastian Junger in Vanity Fair made mention that Nigeria’s crude oil is grouped under the light sweet crude category, what this means is that the crude oil refining processes is less complex and for this reason has attracted foreign investors including the United States of America. Nigeria is the fifth supplier of crude to the US and the effect of the Niger Delta crisis contributed to the last two principal recessions in the US (Junger, 2007) as well as the economy of Nigeria. The Niger Delta region although the source of the Country’s crude oil since its discovery in the 1970s, is relatively regarded as a minority group; thus, this assertion has led to the struggle for identity by the people in that region (Saro-Wiwa, 1995). According to (Cyril, 2001), the recent popularity of the Niger Delta can be attributed to the importance of the crude oil gotten from that region to the overall economy of the country since the deviation from agriculture. He adds that, the genesis of the Niger Delta issue is from the region’s exclusion in development and governmental participation. This exclusion created a rebellion from the youths due to the inequality, causing them to engage in several militant activities such as kidnap, illegal bunkering, vandalising of private and public properties (Ajiboye, et al., 1204665
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2009). The activity of these youths is headed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which is now under the leadership of Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo an Ijaw Muslim convert. Table 1: TRENDS AND NATURE OF ATTACKS BY MEND FROM 2006-2008
Source: NDTC Report [45] This group has maintained the right to exist as long as the issue of poverty and underdevelopment within the region is not addressed. Over the years, economic and infrastructural development has been lopsided, dividend gotten from oil has been concentrated in the majority region, and these are non-oil producing states while the oil producing regions remain in abject poverty, underdevelopment, coupled with environmental ruins caused by the oil producing companies.
OBJECTIVE These groups’ main objectives are to: i. ii. iii. iv. v.
Ensure adequate compensation for destruction of the settlement area. Address the provision of social and health amenities in the region. Push for the economic growth of the region. Ensure the preservation of natural habitat that is plants and animals. To partake in the benefit of oil dividends.
TACTICS To achieve these objectives, the groups use different means to protest, such includes: i. ii. iii. iv. 1204665
Hostage taking and killing. Kidnap of foreign dignitaries. Attack of oil infrastructures. Symbolic bombings. Page 23
v. vi.
Press briefings. Dialoguing.
ACHIEVEMENTS i. ii. iii. iv.
The group has been able to get the attention of the Nigerian government and other affected bodies. Have also been able to gain some form of economic growth and provision of essential amenities. Partake in oil benefits through scholarships to youths and other means. Amnesty for former law offenders.
IMPLICATIONS i. ii. iii. iv. v.
2.5.2.2
Lack of foreign investors due to the unstable Security system. Loss of lives and properties The implication of pipeline vandalising has caused environmental pollution making the region unsafe for living. The activities of this group have caused a downward slope in the country’s economy Negative press to the Country’s national image
BOKO HARAM:
The extremist jihadist activities of the Jamā'a Ahl al-Sunnah li-da'wa wa al-jihād, is by far the most publicised act of security tension in the country, and perhaps the most complicated of all security issues. Popularly referred to as a Boko Haram, the group has gained its popularity from its series of planned and symbolic method of attack which has resulted to the loss of over 3500 lives (Agbiboa, 2013). Although the message of this group is not clear; however, its name is gotten from Hausa (the common language spoken in the northern part of Nigeria) ‘Boko’ meaning book and ‘Haram’ meaning forbidden, this means to prohibit western education or in general western ways. The Boko Haram makes use of suicide bombers in launching an attack, and this is similar to the Al Qaeda tactics.
Source: US Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware http://bit.ly/HmRWR8 As illustrated in the chart, Boko Haram attacks have shown a tremendous increase in the number of casualties over the years. From 2008, the first use of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recorded and has developed increased usage. What this means is that
There has been an increase in the sophistication of weapons
The group has become very powerful
Increase in funding the activities of the group
The government policies on rebels has failed to curb the crisis
There is weakness in the strength of the armed force
Nevertheless, not all will agree to Boko Haram as a terrorist group, Agbiboa uses the term ‘a movement of restoration’ to describing the activities of the group.
OBJECTIVE Although the objective(s) of this group is not clear, however, much literature mentions that the group proposes; 1204665
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i. ii. iii. iv. v.
The enforcement of Sharia law. The end of western education. The spread of Islam and the supremacy of Allah (Muslim God). An even distribution of nation’s wealth. To put an end to corruption and injustice.
TACTICS i. ii.
Suicide bombing Symbolic attacks in schools churches, mosques, police stations and, local and foreign offices Mass shootings Press statement
iii. iv.
ACHIEVEMENTS i. ii. iii.
The group has succeeded in getting the attention of the Nigerian government and other international organisation. The passing of sharia law in some northern states. Recruitment of dedicated members.
IMPLICATIONS i. ii. iii. iv. v.
2.5.2.3
The actions of this group have led to the death of thousands. A downward slope in the development of affected states. A loss of foreign investment in the country as a whole. It has resulted to bad press for the group, the country and Islam. Increase in corruption and crime rate.
OTHER POPULAR REBELGROUPS
Nigeria has experienced different phases of rebel groups causing havoc from time to time, however, regional in administration, these groups have recorded several killings and destructive acts to the society among which is the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), this is a popular group in the western region and the eastern settlement are the Bakassi boys. Although these are a smaller regional group with minor casualties they, however, contribute to the overall security challenges of the country. Very limited academic writings are known in the study of these other groups.
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Figure 4: DIVISION OF NIGERIA BASED ON REBEL GROUPS
Just as Nigeria can be divided into three Main ethnic groups so also can it divided by Rebel groups:
BOKO HARAM
O P C MEND
SOURCE: AUTHOR
2.6
CORRUPTION
The World Bank defines corruption as the abuse of public power for personal gains. The level of corruption is difficult to measure because it involves undocumented transactions. This takes the form of bribery, nepotism, embezzlement of public funds and enactment of laws for private benefit3. According to the Transparency International (TI) research, Nigeria currently ranks 139/176 in the 2012 corruption perception index4. Although corruption is an obstacle to growth, there is a possibility to outgrow corruption (Treisman, 2000). This means that an increase in economic growth is likely to lead to a significant decrease in the level of corruption. 3
As a concept, (Salisu, 2000) has described Nigeria’s leading causes of corruption into three groups; he affirms that corruption occurs as a result of lack of transparencies in policy regulations, the presence of crude oil as a natural cause and the diversifying nature of the country that is in terms of religion and ethnicity. These features are exemplified by the perception of corruptive practices in these areas. In view of this, Akinyemi (2010) proposes that in understanding the concept of corruption, research should be based on the identification of the forms in which corruption takes place; however, this approach opposes (Ocheje 2001) theory of understanding what is not categorised as corruption since corruption is not a structured practice. It appears that most literatures on corruption strongly emphasis on the downside of corruption and yet there is growing popularity in its use, this is because in terms of speed it gets the work done and it also creates an atmosphere for reliability.
2.6.1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND NATIONAL SECURITY National security covers all aspect of social, political, economic and military needs of a country. To be sure that corruption is a breach in security, from a security point of view corruption creates an opportunity for dubious acts. According to (Musa, 2013) corruption is monopolistic in nature; this is because it reduces room available for competition. (Onuoha, 2009) opines that although there are other issues of concern that affects Nigeria’s security system, but corruption is by far the strongest cause of security challenges. Corruption has eaten deep in the security sector, and this has made it difficult for security workers and policies to work effectively (Musa, 2013). From all indications, there are huge links between corruption and Nigeria’s National Security, to further establish this relationship (Onuoha,
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2009) illustrates this in a diagram using (US Centre for Global Development, 2004) theory5 of characteristics of a weak state.
2.6.1.1
LINKAGE BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND NATIONAL SECURITY
According to Onuoha’s illustration legitimacy gap is caused when there is rigging in the election of public office officials, this rigging is done through various corruption practices such as bribing of electoral officials and voters, stealing of ballot boxes, threatening of electoral officials and voters among others. This gives way for bad governance since the election ballot process is not determined by actual fair play, and this creates a sense of lack of confidence to the governed. Nothing good can come out of rigged elections; a position gotten by fraudulent means is only open to even more unlawful acts. Onuoha’s use of Capacity Gap shows that a dishonest government cannot function fairly, and as such will encounter difficulty in managing public resources, to meet basic needs. When a serving government fails to deliver the governed lacks credibility in the system and may, therefore, decide to take the law into their own hands by taking part in antisocial activities and a breach in the Security Gap and in the case of Nigeria the foundation of the Niger Delta crisis, Boko Haram Crisis and other security issues. Figure 5: THREAT CHAIN
CORRUPTION
BAD GOVERNNCE
LACK OF CREDIBILITY
SECURITY ISSUES
Source: Author
2.7
DIVERSITY THEORY: MULTICULTURALISM
In establishing a framework for the link between diversity and security challenges, one must first understand the concept of diversity. According to (Kevin bloor 2010), it is born out of the need for identity. The diversity theory is typically associated with multiculturalism, and by ‘culture’ meaning ‘the total way of life’. 5
Davis, Carmel. "AFRICOM's Relationship to oil, Terrorism and China." Orbis 53.1 (2009): 122-136.
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There are different types of diversity relating to identifying human differences and part of which are ethnic diversity, religion diversity, political diversity, ideological diversity, racial diversity, literacy diversity and so on. Diversity points out the differences that make up a region. In the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Report on diversity, it states that diversity has become a question of the 21st Century. With the advent of globalisation, communication between bodies of different culture has grown, and this has led to a positive outcome as well as the growing causes of conflict. These outcomes have created two schools of thought on the concept of diversity. Trotman (2002)6 stated in his review of the roots and realities of multiculturalism, that diversity gives room for preserving history and by identifying differences it promotes awareness and respect for individuality. Tariq (2007) agrees by adding that multiculturalism is a form of integration and a body of necessity in the 21st century. To counter this argument, (Richard, 2005)7 argues that, countries with diverse nature concentrate more on causing a problem with people of other cultures, than on embracing each other’s differences. Putnam (2007)8 sees diversity as a room for growth opportunities, as well as, a challenge for growth and development. In his survey, he came to the conclusion that diversity promotes anti-social behaviours and uses the term ‘hunker down’ in this context to mean agree only with one’s kind and exhibit a sense of distrust to other cultures.
6
Trotman, C. James, ed. Multuculturalism: Roots and Realities. Indiana University Press, 2002. Lamm, Richard D. "I have a plan to destroy America." Social Contract (2004): 180-81. 8 Putnam, Robert D. "E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the twenty‐first century the 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture." Scandinavian political studies 30.2 (2007): 137-174. 7
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In view of this, Nigeria in its diversifying nature especially in areas of ethnicity and religion is challenged with the downsides of multiculturalism and the government finds this difficult to manage issues of its diversity and, therefore, the likelihood of growing conflict. This suggests a focus on the development of diversity policies aimed towards addressing the issues associated to these diversities since it the leading source of conflict in the country.
2.7.1 DIVERSITY A CAUSE OF NIGERIA’S NATIONAL ISSUE Some will agree that conflict is inevitable as it is part, of human existence, (Ramsbotham, 2011)9 opines that conflict is caused by incompatibility, in addition to being a part of humanity, Abramson10 et al it adds that it is a means of making sure justice is served. Ramsbotham et al demonstrates human incompatibility using (Galtung 1969) ‘models of conflict, violence and peace’ as shown in the figure below: Figure 6: GALTUNG'S MODELS OF CONFLICT, VIOLENCE AND PEACE
Contradiction
Attitude
Behaviour
Structural Violence
Peace-Building
Cultural Violence
Peacemaking
Direct Violence
Peacekeeping
SOURCE: Extracted from Ramsbotham et al, Contemporary conflict resolution polity 2011.
He demonstrates the concept of conflict using a triangle, and this shows the mismatch in culture and cultural structure. This diversity in contradiction: (ethnicity-Yoruba/Ibo/Hausa..., religion-Christian/Muslim), attitude: (what each religion or ethnic group think of the other/ what each ethnic group or religion think the other thinks of them) and behaviour: this is determined from the findings gotten from the attitude. He states that behaviour can come in two form, positive effect (tourism, association, assimilation, growth, awareness, cooperation)
9
Ramsbotham, Oliver, Hugh Miall, and Tom Woodhouse. Contemporary conflict resolution. Polity, 2011. Abramson, Harold I., Jaqueline Nolan-Haley, and Pat K. Chew. "International Conflict Resolution: Consensual ADR Processes." (2005). 10
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or negative effect (Ethnic Cleansing: Ijaw/Ishekiri crisis, Religious Cleansing: Boko Haram crisis) which he states as the cause of conflict. In line with this, Nigeria’s National Security is challenged by two prominent diversities and this includes;
ETHNIC DIVERSITY This is the foundation to which several regional crises have emerged such as the 2001 Jos Hausa/Fulani crisis, the 1999 Yoruba/Hausa Abiola crisis, the 1997 Ijaw/Itsekiri Warri crisis, and Niger Delta/Crude oil crisis.
RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY The Boko Haram crisis is not the first religious cleansing that has taken place in the country. From time to time, there have been several cases of religion based clashes between the Christians and the Muslims. At the forefront of religious and ethnic crisis is politics some writers would agree, some scholars will argue that security issues in the country is politically motivated and not as an act of cultural differences. This is made easy because citizens tend to agree more with parties of their kind that is in terms of religious and ethnic grouping and, therefore, politicians tend to use this flaw in diversity to their own advantage through fuelling and sponsoring of culture related issues.
2.8
GOVERNMENT POLICY REFORMS ON SECURITY ISSUES
According to (Onuoha, 2009) the overall legitimacy of a state is measured by the country’s security system, he supports this assertion by relating the cause of the Niger Delta crisis to failed government policy to engage in development activities, in this region before the crisis. Nevertheless, the United States Institute of Peace report on ‘the Security Challenges Facing Nigeria’ commends the result of the Amnesty Programme Policy in reducing militancy in that region but criticises the cost put into maintaining such a policy. The report also points out the 1204665
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federal government’s failure to negotiate an agreement with the Jamā'a Ahl al-Sunnah lida'wa wa al-jihād (Boko Haram). (Ngwube, et al., 2013) Addresses government policies on financial security, by critiquing the office of the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). (Ngwube, et al., 2013) Opines that although there has been several failed financial crime bodies set by different governments during their regime to address corruption from time to time, the EFCC has been made headway in tackling corruptive practices in both the public and private sector, and this has created a genuine atmosphere for foreign investment. They, however, noted the flaw of the commission in gaining ground in the constitutional amendment, and this is because some view it as a strategy used by the former president in eliminating his opponents.
2.9
SUMMARYOF LITERATURE REVIEW
In summary, this chapter provides a brief history of security issues in contemporary Nigeria, the cause of the problem, the political implication and government policies on National security. Furthermore, regarding the findings relative to the genesis of security crises, the literature review indicates that:
Security is a vital issue in the Nigeria and it possess a significant drawback in the country’s economy;
Security challenges has moved from regional to National challenges;
The October 1st bombing created an awareness of a problem in the country’s national security;
Security rests in the hands on government policies;
Regarding rebel crisis, literature review findings indicate that:
Nigeria’s dependence on crude oil revenue, possess threat to the country’s economic security;
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The Niger Delta and all other crisis could easily have been avoided;
The sophistication and amount of Boko Haram attacks has increased over the years;
There exist other rebel groups terrorising different regions in the country;
Countries with diverse nature suffers rivalry clashes;
Diversity when managed properly creates room for growth;
Religious and Ethnic diversity contributes to most of the genesis of the crisis recorded.
Furthermore, the findings regarding corruption indicate that:
Corruption in Nigeria is caused by lack of transparencies in policy making and implementation, dependence on crude oil and, multiculturalism;
The corruption practiced during an election is closely linked to the failure of the governing bodies;
Corruption eliminates competition and creates room for other dubious acts.
Finally, the literature review assesses policy reforms on the country’s National Security and notes the following:
The Niger Delta Crisis and all other crises are caused by the absence of pre-crisis measures, Amnesty programme was implemented after the crisis had escalated;
The Amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is an expensive measure;
There is immense political influence on policy making;
The legitimacy of the EFCC is argued on;
Privatisation policy is used to address civil service inefficiency;
The country practices an expensive yet ineffective security policy.
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CHAPTER 3 3.1
METHODOLOGY
3.2
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the methodology that will be used to complete the study. The mixed methods approach was selected to support the completion of the research. The mixed methods approach refers to an approach that combines the collection of qualitative and quantitative data.11 The methodology chapter covers different concepts including the approach, the measurements, sampling and participants, procedure, data analysis, limitations of the study, ethics and a summary that recaps the information presented in the chapter. The rationales for specific decisions as they relate to these aspects are also outlined in relevant sections. 3.3
APPROACH
The study will be conducted using the mixed methods approach. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected for the study. Qualitative studies involve the collection of information that is non-statistical.12 The collected data is normally either opinionated or involves the collection of information that is non-statistical from previously written materials. Qualitative data will be collected through interviews, partially through questionnaires and through reviewing previous literature on the selected topic. Quantitative data, on the other hand, involves the collection of statistical information.13 The study will involve the collection of data through closed ended questions on a customised Likert scale, and a customised rating scale in the questionnaire as explained later on in this
11
C. Kothari, Research methodology: Methods and techniques (New Delhi: New Age International, 2004), 3. 12 13
Ibid., 3. Ibid., 3.
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methodology section. The quantitative approach will support simple computations of data collected on various concepts that are researched. 3.4
MEASUREMENT
Two main measurements will be used in this research. The first measurement will be interviews. The interviews will have open ended questions. Open ended questions will be useful for this research because they will support the collection of qualitative data, which constitutes part of the mixed methods approach. The open ended questions will give participants the opportunity to express their opinions on different questions that will be posed to them.14 The questions for interviews will be based on the main research topic and the research questions which seek to establish the challenges of insecurity in Nigeria, and the way the insecurity challenges are managed among other concepts. The interview will have 10 questions. It will take about 30 to 45 minutes to interview the participants. The second measurement will be a questionnaire. The questionnaire will have two sections. One of the sections will have open ended questions on the topic. This will have a similar advantage to that mentioned in the paragraph above because the participants will get the chance to share opinionated information. The second part of the questionnaire will have closed ended questions, and these will support the collection of statistical data on the issue under study. The first part of the questionnaire will have 5 open ended questions while the second one will have a Likert scale and a rating scale. The Likert scale will have 10 questions, which require participants to choose answer options that best represent their thoughts. The customised Likert scale will have five options including strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. These options will outline the extents to which participants agree or disagree with the statements that relate to the security challenges in Nigeria. 14
Ibid., 7.
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The third part of the questionnaire will have a rating scale with the scales 1-5. The scale will represent: 1-not prevalent, 2-moderately prevalent, 3-not sure, 4-highly prevalent, and 5extremely prevalent. The rating scale will have the different types of security challenges faced in Nigeria for rating and these include: terrorism, militancy, corruption, lawlessness, unemployment, illiteracy, unstructured systems, politics, natural resources (especially crude oil), ethnicity, religion, and cyber crime. The participants will need 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire supports collecting extensive data at once.15 This constitutes the main reason for its selection. It will allow the researcher to collect data with ease and within a short time. 3.5
PARTICIPANTS AND PARTICIPANT SAMPLING
There are two groups that will take part in the study. One of the groups that will take part in the study comprises civilians, who are citizens of Nigeria and who have lived in Nigeria the most part of their lives. The researcher will involve 50 civilians. Half of the participants will be male while the other half will be female. At least 30% of the participants must be either Muslims or Christians. This is meant to ensure that the participants are more representative and that external validity is assured. The second group of participants will constitute people who work with government security agencies and those who work with private security agencies. The number of security officers who will be selected for participation will be 30. 15 will be government officers while 15 will come from private firms. Out of the 15 participants from each group of security providers, 7 will be female, and 8 will be male. The participants will be required to have served in the security field for at least 5 years in order for them to be well positioned to give valued opinions about security challenges in Nigeria.
15
Ibid.100
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There are also other participant characteristics that will be considered when selecting the study cohort. All participants will need to be 30 years and older. This is meant to ensure that they give objective responses to the questions in the questionnaire and the questions posed to them during the interviews. Seasoned security officers have spent more time in dealing with issues of security, and therefore they are better placed to offer valuable opinions as they relate to the main aim of the study. In order to get the desired participants, random sampling will be used. Random sampling was selected because it reduces bias. Random sampling will be conducted in order to select participants from lists that will be generated through call outs for volunteering. The researcher will use referrals to get participants. The researcher will search for members of both government security forces and private security firms and use those found to get referrals to more participants. The researcher will also identify volunteer participants from the public. All volunteers will be enlisted after which random sampling will be used to select the desired number of participants. 3.6
PROCEDURE
Several steps will be taken to ensure that the research is completed successfully. After the participants are identified, they will be requested to avail their phone numbers, and they will also be requested to avail their email addresses or to open email addresses that will be used by the researcher if they do not have any. Email is cheap, and it uses less time. The researcher will not have to incur printing costs and the mailing costs will be far less than those that may have incurred through mailing hard copied questionnaires. The researcher will use the email addresses to send the consent forms to the participants. They will be required to fill them up and send them back to the researcher after which the actual study will commence. The researcher will start the process of data collection in the research with the survey questionnaires, which will be send to the participants. The researcher will send all 1204665
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questionnaires via the email addresses provided and phone calls will be made to each participant to inform them that the questionnaires have been sent to them. The questionnaires sent to the participants will have accompanied messages informing them of the duration within which they should fill them up and send them back to the researcher. The same will also be communicated through the phone calls made to the participants. They will be given two weeks to find time to fill in the questionnaire after which they will send them back to the researcher. The second stage of the research will involve conducting the interviews. The interviews will be used to collect information that would assist in reinforcing data collected through the questionnaires. Only 15 civilians, 10 private security firm officers, and 10 government security officers out of those who filled up the survey questionnaire will be interviewed after they will have been randomly selected. The telephone interviews will last for 30 to 45 minutes. The interviews will be recorded after which they will be transcribed for analysis. The researcher will also review previous literature on the security challenges faced in Nigeria. The review will support a synthesis of information and an analogy of information about the security challenges faced in Nigeria. Review of literature will focus on gathering information about the historical and current manifestations of security challenges in the identified country and issues that influence it. This will reinforce first hand data that are collected for the report. 3.7
DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis will be conducted using both qualitative and quantitative processes. The first method of data analysis will be coding. Coding involves arranging information into themes that are relevant to answering the research questions.16 The researcher will utilise open coding, which will be used to ensure that there is adequate room for the formation of new 16
Ibid., 261.
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themes, throughout the data analysis process. Open coding is flexible in that it allows researchers to analyse data with the possibility of changing topics and adding new topics as they complete the analysis process. This data analysis method will be used mainly to analyse the qualitative data that will be collected. The second method of data analysis will involve conducting simple computations of the quantitative data that will have been collected through under the customised Likert scale, and the customised rating scale in the questionnaire. The data will be analysed to establish group mean scores for different security challenges, in the rating scale, while data from the Likert scale will be analysed basing on response similarity for the given questions. 3.8
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The researcher has attempted to come up with a research whose results are admissible and applicable to the selected context, but even so, there are some limitations to the study. The first limitation of the study lies in the selected cohort. The research will involve a total of 80 participants, and though the number is feasible for the study, it limits the transferability of the results. The views they hold may not be transferable to the whole Nigerian population. The second limitation lies in the subjectivity that is related to qualitative data. Qualitative data mainly involves the collection of opinionated information. The participants may very well give opinions that do not necessarily represent what they truly think. In other words, there is a chance that the data collected does not fully represent what the participants think. There is also a chance of subjectivity with regard to data analysis because this is a weakness of qualitative data. The third limitation lies in the exclusion of some key security issues such as environmental security. This view is, therefore, not represented in the security study.
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These limitations, however, do not mean that the research should be dismissed. With regard to the cohort, there is always a limit to the extent to which the results of any research can be transferred/are externally valid. In order to increase the chances of getting objective responses, the researcher opted to use follow up interviews which will support the collection of reinforcing data. Furthermore, the collection of quantitative data counters the effect of subjectivity that may arise in the analysis of qualitative data. 3.9
ETHICS
The researcher will put to use several ethical considerations. Ethics is integral in research presently because it seeks to protect the participants from harm.17 The first one, which was mentioned earlier on in the methodology section, is consent. As stated earlier on, all participants will be aged over 18 and as such, they will be able to give own consent for participation. The participants will give written consent before they are allowed to take part in the study. The researcher will coin consent form that will be read and filled up by the participants. The participants will also not be subjected to any forms of treatment that would have negative effects on them. They will therefore be assured of their safety and of no interruption to their regular day-to-day activities and lives in general. Confidentiality is an essential aspect under research ethics. The researcher will ensure that the participants’ personal details including their names, phone numbers, and email addresses are not shared with third parties who do not have any role to play in the study. Moreover, the results will be dissociated from the participants’ personal details, and when names must be used, they will be given pseudonyms.
17
J. Khan, Research methodology (New Delhi: APH Publishing, 2011), 55.
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The collected data will also not be used for any other reasons other than that intended by the researcher. The data will be used to answer the research questions and to complete the report and not for other reasons that may not be aligned to the same. This leads to the next aspect of ethics, and that is the management of raw data. There are instances when raw data may be stored inappropriately so that it ends up being accessed by unintended audiences. The researcher will strive to ensure that the questionnaires and the tape recorded interviews are not mismanaged. The filled up questionnaires will be downloaded and stored by the researcher in a folder that is password secured, so that he is the only one who will have access to the same. The researcher will also ensure that the tape recorded material is kept at a location that is accessible only to him so that it is not interfered with, lost or used for other purposes that are not intended. It is necessary for researchers to consider what they would do with data after they conclude their researches and compile their reports. In view of this, the researcher will ensure that the raw data materials including the questionnaires and the recorded material is destroyed one month after the conclusion of the report and its presentation. 3.10
SUMMARY
This chapter outlines the methodology that will be used to collect data for the intended research. The first section of the methodology section outlines the approach that will be used to conduct research. The approach selected for the research is the mixed methods approach. The mixed methods approach involves the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. To add to this, the rationale for the selection of this approach is also given. The second section of the methodology outlines the measurements that will be used in the research. In view of this, a proposal has been made to utilise interviews and a survey questionnaire as the main instruments for the research. The interview questions will be open
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ended while the questionnaire will have both open ended and closed ended questions that will support the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. The third section of the methodology outlines the participant characteristics and the sampling method that will be used. The research will involve a total of 80 participants 50 of whom will be civilians and 30 of whom will be security officers. All participants will be aged 30 and above, and they will be recruited through volunteerism and random sampling. The fourth section of the methodology outlines the procedure that will be used to collect data from the selected participants. The procedure section outlines the methods that will be used to communicate with the clients, the means used to convey the questionnaires to them, and the ways through which the interviews will be conducted. The section outlines survey administration as the first instrument to be administered, and this will be followed by the interviews. Data analysis is the fifth section that follows. The section outlines the procedures that will be used to analyse data. For this research, the researcher has selected to use coding for use in the analysis of qualitative data and simple computations for the quantitative data. This will support the presentation of qualitative and quantitative data separately. The next segment of the methodology covers the limitations of the study. In view of this, two limitations are outlined in relation to the research. The first limitation lies in the selected cohort which limits external validity. The second limitation lies in the possibility of collecting opinions that do not depict what participants actually think and the last one relates to the possibilities of subjectivity in data analysis. Efforts to counter these limitations are also explained. The last section of the methodology section is the ethics section. Ethics has developed into a major issue of concern in research and therefore the researcher outlines steps that will
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minimize contravention of ethical standards. This translates to the minimization of harm on the selected participants. The ethics section covers several concepts including consent, confidentiality use of collected data, data storage and data destruction. The ethical concerns that may arise in these aspects are addressed in the section.
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CHAPTER 4 4.1 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 4.2
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the findings of the study. The main aim of the study was to investigate the security challenges in Nigeria. In order to achieve this aim, the researcher conducted a mixed methods research as explained in the methodology section. This study sought to answer several research questions including, what are the security challenges in Nigeria? What are the possible causes of security challenges in Nigeria? And, what can counter the security challenges in Nigeria? These research questions informed the formulation of interview and survey questions that aided the successful collection of data. It is important to note that initially, the researcher had chosen 50 civilians and 30 private and public security officers to take part in the study. Even so, a total of 12 participants (9 civilian and 3 security officers) did not return the questionnaires within the expected period. As such, the researcher managed to analyse and present the data from 68 questionnaires. The number of those interviewed was achieved as anticipated (15 civilians, 10 private security firm officers, and 10 government security officers). 4.3 UNDERSTANDING OF INSECURITY IN NIGERIA
Through the interviews, qualitative data was collected on several concepts that are linked to the three main research questions on which the research is based. To establish a solid base for the findings, the researcher sought to establish what they understood ‘insecurity’ to mean. There were diverse opinions, but to a greater extent, the participants understood it to mean the presence of threats, and the occurrence of events that threaten or take people’s lives, and instil fear in them. The question was open and therefore, the participants used it as an opportunity to give examples of what they thought constituted insecurity. Their descriptions 1204665
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of insecurity included certain words and phrases including “high chances of harm to people and property”, “high instances of killings”, “fighting”, “ethnic clashes”, “bombings”, “widespread militia activities:, “terrorist activities” among other phrases. These phrases were picked from the interviews and, the first sections of the questionnaire as representations of what the participants thought insecurity meant. Out of all these, ‘terrorism’ was the most reoccurring answer mentioned by the participants. High instances of killings/murders and rapes were also mentioned highly by the participants, in their understanding of insecurity. Besides what may be termed as serious insecurity issues, some of the participants also mentioned other aspects of insecurity such as high robbery cases, and kidnapping cases. They however, also mentioned some of the other security challenges such as robbery and petty crime which may have smaller magnitude of effects. 4.4 CAUSES OF INSECURITY
Part of the interview targeted establishing what the participants thought were the causes of insecurity in the country. One of the causes of insecurity that was highly mentioned by the participants was poverty. From the responses that were collected from the participants, it is clear that they thought people engaged in activities that lead to insecurity because, it benefited them financially. This was deduced from the statements which they made. For example, these statements were extracted from their responses, they stated “people kill for money”, “if everyone had a genuine way of making ends meet; there would be less insecurity”, “when people do not know where their next meal will come from, they will steal”. These statements among many more that were recorded allude to the cause-effect relationship between poverty and insecurity. Moreover, some participants linked insecurity to unemployment, and this is explained below. There are those who stated that, there are too many youths who are unemployed and as such, they turn to crime as an avenue to make money, and also, as part of spending idle time. These 1204665
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are some of the statements that were picked from their responses: “a youth who is not employed would turn to armed robbery for survival:, when the youths are idle, they take to drugs and this motivates them to commit a crime”, “when intelligent youths are unemployed they may decide to use their intelligence to plan and commit crime”. These are some of the statements that clearly articulated the stated connection. The participants also cited inequitable distribution of resources and poor management of resources as a major cause of insecurity. The presence of oil in the Niger Delta was mentioned as a problem because there are different parties that wish to benefit from the oil revenue, and therefore, they fight over it. Some participants stated that the people do not feel like they are recipients of the economic benefit that come with having oil. These deductions were made from several statements that were picked from the interview transcripts and the questionnaire. The participants stated “oil is managed by cartels that that do not allow citizen to benefit as they should and some opt to fight for it”, “the Niger Delta has oil which has not so much benefitted the people and this lead to fighting for it”, “the Niger Delta is very unsafe because of fighting for oil”, “oil companies work together with politicians who benefit from the oil rather than support development”, “the management of natural resources i poor and it causes conflict”. These are just a few of the statements that show that participants feel natural resource management is a problem. The next cause of insecurity that was highly mentioned is religious differences. Nigeria is host to citizens from two major religious affiliations including Christians and Muslims; however, there are other religions. According to the participants, the two major religious groups hold their religious ideologies as highly superior to the other, and this is the source of conflict between them. There are those who feel that the animosity between some members of the two religious groups has led to violence. The participants thought that Christians and Muslims do not get along and that there is constant tension between the two groups. Some of 1204665
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the statements recorded include: “Muslims and Christians do not get along and therefore, some end up killing one another”, “there is always tension between Christians and Muslims”, “Christians blame Muslims for all the terrorist attacks and the Muslims debunks this accusation and this creates tension”. These statements are representative of the thoughts that participants have about religion as a source of insecurity. The participants also mentioned poor structures as a cause of insecurity. The participants mentioned poor management of security issues by the government. They stated that the government has not strengthened the police force enough to ensure proper maintenance of peace and security in the country. There are also, those who felt that the police force are not internally structured, and therefore, lack the ability to function appropriately. These are some of the statements that were gotten from the collected responses. They stated that; “the government is not committed to fighting criminals and ensuring the security of the people”, “politicians incite people to fight along ethnic lines”, “some government officials are corrupt and they support activities that increase insecurity”, “the police sometimes work with criminals and therefore people do not feel safe”, “the police do not have the equipment to ensure people are safe”. These are some of the statements which allude to problems within the government and in the government agencies in charge of security such as the police force. This alludes to the presence of poor structures that do not fully support enforcement of the law and eradication of insecurity. 4.4.1
ROLES OF LEADERS IN ENSURING INSECURITY
The participants were asked to explain what they thought was the role of leaders in ensuring security. The respondents in this case outlined several things which they thought their leaders should do to ensure that they are secure. There were respondents who stated that the leaders must have the will and motivation to ensure a secure nation. Moreover, they stated that leaders should not engage in activities that may interfere with efforts directed to ensuring that 1204665
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there is peace in the country. Some of the participants also mentioned that leaders should not be corrupt. Some of the respondents do not support the distribution of financial resources that would aid agencies such as the police, in executing their roles. Some of the statements collected to illustrate this include; “the leaders must be committed to fighting insecurity”, “leaders should not embezzle the financial resources meant for equipping the police”. These are some of the opinions they had. It is therefore clear that the participants feel part of the security challenges faced are the results of leadership problems. In close relation to establishing what they thought leaders should do, the participants were also asked whether, they thought past leadership systems also had influenced the current security status and how they had done so. The participants’ response showed that they believed the current security issues were influenced by past leadership systems. Their statements showed they believed some of the poor structures were inherited from previous governments and therefore, having such poor systems has almost turned into a culture. These are some of the statements that were made by the participants; “the poor service in the police has been there from government to government with little or change implemented”, “each government comes in with officials who want to loot their share and leave instead of serving the people, so it has become a culture”, “no government has worked exceptionally and therefore, those that follow after have no standard to compete against”. These statements show that they believe what one government does, influences the activities of the next government officials that will take over office. Some of the participants also stated that, the government is responsible for legislation which is used in security enforcement and, that poor policies translate to poor national security. 4.4.2
CHALLENGES FACED BY THE POLICE/SECURITY AGENCIES
The participants were also asked what they thought were the major challenges faced by the police while they were working. The participants mentioned several challenges, but the main 1204665
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responses were lack of equipment, poor salary, and minimal support from the public. Lack of equipment was the most reoccurring response cited by the participants who were not security personnel and the security personnel cited it extensively. They stated that; “sometimes the police have no vehicle to use”, “sometimes the police go out without handcuffs or bulletproofs when battling armed criminals”. In relation to poor salary, this was mainly cited by the government security officers. They stated that; “the poor pay makes police officers take bribe”, “poor salary leaves police officers wondering what else is to be done to make more money”. The third most mentioned challenge was cited by the police officers, they stated that members of the public sometimes withhold crucial information that could assist in fighting insecurity. They stated that; “members of the public hold on to information about robbers, drug dealers, rapist, and other criminal acts”, “people do not always report suspicious activities until it is too late”. 4.4.3
SPREAD OF INSECURITY
The participants were also asked to state where they thought insecurity was more prevalent. They were also asked why they thought so. The responses were in this case mixed because they were limited in their answers. Some of the participants stated that the rural areas had the most crime, but most of them cited urban areas as the most insecure region. There were also those who stated that the oil rich areas, such as, the Niger Delta are highly insecure. Some also stated that, areas where there are predominant Muslim settlement borders predominantly Christian settlements are high risk places in terms of conflict. 4.4.4
WHAT THEY THINK SHOULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE SECURITY
For closure, the participants were asked what they thought should be done to boost security in Nigeria. They stated many things, which they thought should be done, and these include; equipping the police, recruiting more policemen, coining programmes that will support national cohesion among religious and ethnic groups, improving punishment systems for criminals who pose security threats, promoting collaboration between the police and the 1204665
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public, fighting corruption, improving the management of resources, improving literacy levels through better access to education, increasing job opportunities, and reducing poverty level. The researcher also sought to establish the participants’ thoughts about several statements that relate to the security challenges faced in Nigeria and their solutions. Moreover, the participants’ thoughts on the prevalence levels of specific security challenges were collected 4.5 FINDINGS FROM THE LIKERT SCALE TABLE 2: TABLE SHOWING PARTICIPANTS' THOUGHTS ON INSECURITY CHALLENGES AND THEIR SOLUTIONS
Division
Q1. The leadership and government are
Disagree
Slightly Neutral Disagree
47
12
64
4
6
Slightly Agree
Agree
3
doing everything they can to support overcoming the security challenges in Nigeria. Q2. The security challenges in Nigeria have minimal influence on people’s lives. Q3. Reduction in corruption would reduce
1
67
4
64
3
64
64
security challenges in Nigeria. Q4. Increasing youth employment would reduce security levels in Nigeria. Q5. Improving literacy levels would
1
improve security levels in Nigeria. Q6. The police force is well trained and
51
11
4
2
33
29
2
4
equipped to handle security challenges in Nigeria. Q7. The public is highly cooperative with the police in eliminating security challenges in Nigeria. Q8. Better management of natural resources
1
67
would improve security in Nigeria.
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Q9. It is possible to reduce the security
12
16
10
7
23
3
1
3
61
challenges caused by religious differences. Q10. Planning programmes that support national cohesion and understanding will reduce animosity between ethnicities and reduce terrorism.
The findings in the table above were established through interviews and the first of the questionnaire which had open ended questions. The participants generally point to the overview that the government is not doing everything possible to minimise/counter security challenges, and that these challenges pose a negative effect in the life of people. The results also show the step supported for making changes including improving the level to which the police are equipped and trained to handle insecurity, improving natural resources management, promoting cohesion, improving literacy, improving employment levels and reducing corruption. 4.6
FINDINGS FROM THE RATING SCALE
TABLE 3: TABLE SHOWING PARTICIPANTS' RATINGS ON INSECURITY CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA
The results above shows that no single challenge was thought to be absent in the Nigerian context. In fact, cybercrime is the only challenge in which 7 out 68 participants could not
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decide its levels of prevalence. All the other challenges outlined were assigned levels of prevalence by all participants. This means that, all the participants mainly stated that the challenges outlined were highly prevalent and extremely prevalent. Terrorism was stated to be extremely prevalent by 17 out of 68 (24%) participants. The other challenges were also rated as extremely prevalent by different percentages of participants, and they are as follows; Militancy – 12 (18%), Lawlessness – 57 (84%), Unemployment – 55 (81%), Illiteracy – 67 (99%), Unstructured system – 64 (94%), Religion – 29 (43%), and cybercrime – 11 (16%). Cybercrime is possibly the least prevalent from the outlined challenges because, those who stated that it were moderately accounted for 47% of the total participant population. The combination of scores for all the challenges shows that each challenge, except cybercrime, is stated to be either highly prevalent or extremely prevalent by at least 50% of the study cohort. This shows that they feel these challenges are extensively experienced.
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CHAPTER 5 5.1
DISCUSSION
The results of the research show that Nigeria has a multitude of security challenges with which it must grapple. While the closed ended part of the questionnaire was limited to certain challenges including; Terrorism, Militancy, Lawlessness, Unemployment, Illiteracy, Unstructured systems, Politics, Natural resources, Ethnicity, Religion, Cybercrime and Corruption, there were other challenges that were mentioned to include; robbery, rape, and unexplainable killings. The findings of the study show a high prevalence of security challenges, because, no single crime out of those outlined, was outlined by the participants as being non-prevalent. Some scholars have classified Nigeria as failed country. This is due to the high rate of insecurity challenges faced by the country, and the prevalence levels of insecurity incidence recorded in the country. According to (Onyishi, 2011), (Eme, 2009), and (Eme, 2004), Nigeria is insecure because there are increased kidnappings, increased political instability and, this has resulted in political-related deaths, increased robberies, poor economic statuses, and extrajudicial killings. (Adegbamibge, 2001) Also stated, that the police are known to engage in crimes, such as robbery. The statements made by these authors are practical to research, and their essence is captured in the results which show high prevalence levels of crime. The police are responsible for extrajudicial killings yet, they are meant to offer security. The findings in this research also supported by (Okpaga, et al., 2012) who stated that a group such as Boko Haram is known for supporting religious fighting and other forms of violence. Moreover, the group is used to start up violence on the basis of political issues. In fact, (Okpaga, et al., 2012) also stated that the insecurity challenges Nigeria was facing has steadily shifted so that they are assuming the face of terrorism to a greater extent. (Sola, 1204665
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2007) Also, cited crisis in the Niger Delta region as a source of insecurity. The opinions shared by the participants are, therefore, indicative of overt security challenges that are not only captured in literature but which people can identify with. Each of the security challenges captured in the literature review was cited by the participants as moderately, highly or extremely prevalent, and this is indicative of the need for comprehensive plans to overcome the stated challenges. Going by the discussion on different security challenges, by scholars and reports such as (OSIWA, 2012), (Sola, 2007), (Junger, 2007), (Agbiboa, 2013), (Treisman, 2000) among other scholars in the literature review including terrorism, poor structures, terrorism, corruption, and ethnicity among others, it is clear that security challenges in Nigeria are not being addressed optimally.
5.2 RECOMMENDATION The management of policy and policy implementation is the root solution to security and many other problems in Nigeria. A significant role rests in the hands of three arms of government that is the legislature, executive and the Judiciary as well as other public office holders. The results and findings also show that people have lost hope in the system and, therefore, measures should be made to change the mindset of individuals on the importance of collective security and the role of policies. Also, on the issue of corruption, since study shows that corruption especially in public offices is to a large extent a problem in the security system, the government needs to implement more rigid laws that allow the persecution of public office holders during their term in office, this will allow for the better management of greed and an improved execution of duties while in office. The judiciary and the executive tier of government should also rule out any form of double standards regarding mitigating and enforcing of corruption based offences.
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Furthermore, regarding policy flaws, internal and external professional bodies, specialised in policy formulation can be employed to research on the available policies and then come up with amendment solutions. Lastly, regarding diversity, the government need to invest on more projects that promote the coexistence of the different ethnic and religious groups.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES This study does not cover all area to be evaluated regarding the security challenges in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, mainly because it is still an ongoing challenge and new issues are surfacing with limited literatures on them. As the situation develops, there will be a need for additional research; hence this study proposes the use for further studies on:
Security challenges in Nigeria
The Role of Security agents in ensuring security
Security challenges in the 21st century
Nigeria and New Terrorism
An evaluation of ethnic and religious clashes in Nigeria.
Finally, although this study is on general security challenges in Nigeria, I have however left out some factors that pose security risks for those bold enough to attempt, these includes:
The decline of environmental security in the country;
The impact of low minimum wage as a security risk
The lack of Social Security Number or other measures of proper Identification of every citizen in the country as a means that encourages crime
The absence of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) for surveillance of public places.
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Bibliography Adegbamibge, A., 2001. Robbers in Police Uniform. The News, pp. 14-23. Agbiboa, D. E., 2013. Corruption and Economic Crim in Nigeria: Social and Economic Perspectives. African Security Review, I(22.1), pp. 47-66. Ajiboye, O. E., Jawando, J. O. & Adisa, W. B., 2009. Poverty, Oil Exploration and Niger Delta Crisis: The Response of the Youth. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, III(5), pp. 224-232. Cyril, I. O., 2001. The Changing Forms of Identity Politics in Nigeria Under Economic Adjustment. The Case of the Oil Minorities Movement of the Niger Delta, p. 5. Eme, O. I., 2004. Insecurity Question in Nigeria: AThematic Exposition. The Academy, I(4), pp. 8-9. Eme, O. I., 2009. Ethno-Religious Identitites in Nigeria. Implications for Good Governance in Nigeria, Volume I. Eme, O. I. & Anthony, O., 2011. The Challenges of Insecurity in Nigeria. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business, III(8), pp. 1-14. Horgan, J., 2003. The Search for the Terrorist Personality. In Terrorists, Victims and Society. Horgan, J., 2008. From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives from Psychology on Rdicalization in to terrorism. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, pp. 1-16. Junger, S., 2007. Blood oil, s.l.: Vanity Fair. MI5- The Security Service, 2013. The Threats: Terrorism, s.l.: s.n. Neumann, P. R. & Michael, L. R. S., 2007. The Strategy of Terrorism: How it works and Why it Failed, s.l.: Routledge. Ngwube, Arinze & Okoli, C., 2013. "The Role of the Economic Financial Crime Commission in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria". Journal of Studies in Social Science. Nwagboso, C. I., 2012. Security Challenges and Economy of the Nigerian State. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, II(6). Okpaga, A., Chijoke, S. U. & Eme, O. I., 2012. Activities of Boko Haram and Insecurity Questions in Nigeria. Arabian Journals of Business and Management Review, I(1), pp. 77-100. Oluduro, O. & Olubisi F., O., 2012. Nigeria: In Search of Peace in the Niger Delta through Amnesty Programme. Journal of Sustainable Development, I(5.8), p. 48. Onyishi, O. E., 2011. The Challenges of Insecurity in Nigeria: A Thematic Exposition. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, pp. 172-187. OSIWA, 2012. Nigeria: Ensuring Stability, Human Safety and Security, s.l.: Open Society for West Africa. 1204665
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Reich, W., 1998. Understanding terrorist behaviour:The limits and Opportunities of Psycological Inquiry. In: R. Walter, ed. Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, State of Mind. Washington DC.: Woodrow Wilson Centre Press, pp. 79-261. Salisu, M., 2000. Corruption in Nigeria., s.l.: Lanchester University Management School. Saro-Wiwa, K., 1995. A Month and a Day: ADetention Dairy. London: Penguin Books. Sola, T., 2007. The Nigerian 2007 Election, s.l.: Chatham House. Sola, T., 2007. The Nigerian 2007 Election: A Guide for Journalists and Commentators; Africa Programme Briefing note, London: Chatham House. Treisman, D., 2000. The causes of Corruption in Nigeria. Journal of Public Economics, pp. 399-457. U.S Department of State, 2012. Foreign Terrorist Organisations, s.l.: s.n. UNDP, 1994. Human Development Report, s.l.: United Nations Development Programme. Notes from ‘Security Challenges and other Global issues’ on Terrorism lecture: week 6. Dr Julian Richards. School of humanities, University of Buckingham http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:23272490~pagePK:511 23644~piPK:329829~theSitePK:29708,00.html http://www.transparency.org/country#NGA Salisu, M. A. "Corruption in Nigeria." (2000). Lancaster University Management School. Davis, Carmel. "AFRICOM's Relationship to oil, Terrorism and China." Orbis 53.1 (2009): 122-136. Trotman, C. James, ed. Multuculturalism: Roots and Realities. Indiana University Press, 2002. Lamm, Richard D. "I have a plan to destroy America." Social Contract (2004): 180-81. Putnam, Robert D. "E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the twenty‐first century the 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture." Scandinavian political studies 30.2 (2007): 137-174. Ramsbotham, Oliver, Hugh Miall, and Tom Woodhouse. Contemporary conflict resolution. Polity, 2011. Abramson, Harold I., Jaqueline Nolan-Haley, and Pat K. Chew. "International Conflict Resolution: Consensual ADR Processes." (2005). Ngwube, Arinze, and Chuka Okoli. "The Role of the Economic Financial Crime Commission in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria." Journal of Studies in Social Sciences 4.1 (2013). C. Kothari, Research methodology: Methods and techniques (New Delhi: New Age International, 2004), 3. J. Khan, Research methodology (New Delhi: APH Publishing, 2011), 55.
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APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is your understanding of insecurity in Nigeria? 2. What events show that there are security challenges in Nigeria? 3. In your opinion, what are the causes of insecurity in Nigeria? 4. What role do you think leaders play in ensuring people’s security? 5. Do you think previous leadership systems have affected the current security situation in Nigeria and why? 6. What challenges are faced by the police/security agencies in maintaining security? 7. Which parts of the country do you think have more insecurity? 8. Why do you think those places are insecure? 9. What do you think should be done to improve the security situation in Nigeria? 10. Are you hopeful that the security challenges in Nigeria will reduce in the near future?
APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire to establish the security challenges in Nigeria Fill in the most appropriate answer or select on answer from the given choices
Part A 1. What is your understanding of insecurity in the Nigerian context? 2. What are the causes of insecurity in Nigeria? 3. What role do leaders play in ensuring security in Nigeria? 4. What challenges do the police and security agencies face? 5. What do you think should be done to improve security in Nigeria?
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Part B 1. Please mark with a tick the answer that best represents your thoughts Division
Disagree
Slightly Slightly Neutral Disagree Agree
Agree
Q1. The leadership and government are doing everything they can to support overcoming the security challenges in Nigeria. Q2. The security challenges in Nigeria have minimal influence on people’s lives. Q3. Reduction in corruption would reduce security challenges in Nigeria. Q4. Increasing youth employment would reduce security challenges in Nigeria. Q5. Improving literacy levels would improve security levels in Nigeria. Q6. The police forces are well trained and equipped to handle security challenges in Nigeria. Q7. The public is highly cooperative with the police in eliminating security challenges in Nigeria. Q8. Better management of natural resources would improve security in Nigeria. Q9. It is possible to reduce the security challenges caused by religious differences. Q10. Planning programs that support national cohesion and understanding will reduce animosity between ethnicities and reduce terrorism. 1204665
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2. Rate the insecurity challenge by placing a tick in the appropriate box Security Challenge
Other groups that apply to most states includes: Yahoo boys/419, confraternity (cultism) Source: Author’s compilation
This table suggests that there is a high level of security crisis in Nigeria, and every part is affected by it in one way or another. It also illustrates that there is more security issues in the Northern and Niger Delta region.
APPENDIX IV: World Bank Indicator Database (Nigeria)
1.
2002 1,210.0
GNI per capita, PPP (current international $) 2. Population total 129.2 (millions) 3. GDP (in millions) 59,116.9 $ 4. GDP (annual 1.5 growth) % 5. Life expectancy at 47.4 birth (annual) % 6. Arms import (million) Source: World Bank Indicator